{"id":7398,"date":"2024-03-01T18:55:00","date_gmt":"2024-03-01T07:55:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/onthecoastpublications.com.au\/onthecoastover55\/?p=7398"},"modified":"2024-02-02T00:00:20","modified_gmt":"2024-02-01T13:00:20","slug":"christmas-joy-central-coast-seniors","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/onthecoastpublications.com.au\/onthecoastover55\/christmas-joy-central-coast-seniors\/","title":{"rendered":"Christmas Joy for Central Coast Seniors as Meals on Wheels\u2122 Australia Joins Home Instead\u2019s Be A Santa To A Senior Program"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

A child\u2019s heartwarming message for a senior, handwritten on one of Home Instead\u2019s Be A Santa To A Senior cards.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Meals on Wheels\u2122 Australia joins Home Instead\u2019s Be A Santa To A Senior program to spread festive joy and reduce isolation for older Australians.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Christmas joy is on the menu for Central Coast seniors this December, with Meals on Wheels\u2122 Australia drivers set to carry some extra special cargo to help in\u2013home care provider Home Instead reduce festive season social isolation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As part of Home Instead\u2019s national Be A Santa To A Senior program, the volunteer meal delivery service is helping to deliver nationwide more than 12,500 Christmas cards, which have been decorated by children, to spread some Christmas cheer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Locally, Home Instead Central Coast & Newcastle have been playing Santa, coordinating the delivery of 200 cards via Meals on Wheels\u2122 and at a special lunch event.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The cards, lovingly decorated by children aged five to 13, from Broken Bay Scouts Group, were also hand\u2013delivered to seniors at Woy Woy Meals on Wheels\u2122 Community Restaurant lunch on Friday, December 1, and also distributed by the service\u2019s drivers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cEveryone had a wonderful time at the Christmas lunch and one of the Broken Bay Scouts, Xavier, who is six years old, was there to present the cards,\u201d Home Instead Central Coast & Newcastle Community Engagement Manager Samantha Farham said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt was really heartwarming to see the happy interactions between the seniors and Xavier. He has already asked to go back to visit, and the seniors said they would love to have him return.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n
\"\"
Broken Bay Scout Group children decorating the Be A Santa To A Senior cards.<\/strong><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"\"
Cathy Tate, Woy Woy Meals on Wheels Central Coast Client Services Officer, with volunteer Andrew Marsden, Jason Millers, Meals on Wheels Central Coast Relationship Manager, and Xavier, 6<\/strong><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Samantha said collaborations like this with Meals on Wheels \u2122 Australia broadened Home Instead\u2019s outreach to support so many more people who need that vital social contact.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt\u2019s incredibly important for our community\u2019s seniors to feel cared for, included and supported all year round, and even more so at Christmas, and this is what Be A Santa To A Senior is all about,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cOur experience and Meals on Wheels\u2122 Australia research tell us that two of the biggest threats to wellbeing as we age are social isolation and loss of independence.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cOnly 20 per cent of Meals on Wheels\u2122 Australia\u2019s customers report having one or more meaningful social connections a day, excluding their meal deliveries.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cHome Instead shares the desire to increase wellbeing for our clients through meaningful social connection while providing a service and we are proud to join forces this festive season.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe know intergenerational contact is immensely rewarding for both older people and children,\u201d said Paul Sadler, Chair of Meals on Wheels\u2122 Australia. \u201cWe can ensure isolated older people right around the nation experience that companionship, through our network of meals on wheels services.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Samantha said a small gesture could make a big difference to a senior. \u201cSimply helping with groceries, walking someone to their car, or taking the time to have a chat or help at home can go a long way to improving wellbeing and eliminating feelings of loneliness and isolation,\u201d
she said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A child\u2019s heartwarming message for a senior, handwritten on one of Home Instead\u2019s Be A Santa To A Senior cards. Meals on Wheels\u2122 Australia joins Home Instead\u2019s Be A Santa…","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":7400,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"content-type":"","om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_uf_show_specific_survey":0,"_uf_disable_surveys":false,"_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","episode_type":"audio","audio_file":"","cover_image":"","cover_image_id":"","duration":"","filesize":"","date_recorded":"","explicit":"","block":"","filesize_raw":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[39,77],"tags":[],"series":[115],"class_list":["post-7398","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-lifestyle","category-retirement","series-coffee-with-a-coastie"],"episode_featured_image":"https:\/\/onthecoastpublications.com.au\/onthecoastover55\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2024\/02\/christmas-card.jpg","episode_player_image":"https:\/\/onthecoastpublications.com.au\/onthecoastover55\/wp-content\/plugins\/seriously-simple-podcasting\/assets\/images\/no-album-art.png","download_link":"","player_link":"","audio_player":false,"episode_data":{"playerMode":"dark","subscribeUrls":{"apple_podcasts":{"key":"apple_podcasts","url":"","label":"Apple Podcasts","class":"apple_podcasts","icon":"apple-podcasts.png"},"stitcher":{"key":"stitcher","url":"","label":"Stitcher","class":"stitcher","icon":"stitcher.png"},"google_podcasts":{"key":"google_podcasts","url":"","label":"Google Podcasts","class":"google_podcasts","icon":"google-podcasts.png"},"spotify":{"key":"spotify","url":"","label":"Spotify","class":"spotify","icon":"spotify.png"}},"rssFeedUrl":"https:\/\/onthecoastpublications.com.au\/onthecoastover55\/feed\/podcast\/coffee-with-a-coastie","embedCode":"

Christmas Joy for Central Coast Seniors as Meals on Wheels\u2122 Australia Joins Home Instead\u2019s Be A Santa To A Senior Program<\/a><\/blockquote>